Tuesday, April 24, 2007

From The Sun in the UK:

Docs fight to save man's willy

By MIKE SULLIVANand JOHN KAYApril 24, 2007

HORRIFIED diners watched in shock as a maniac sliced off his manhood in a crowded pizza restaurant. The 35-year-old Pole burst into the Zizzi eaterie in central London and grabbed a knife from the kitchen.He then leapt on a table and dropped his trousers as customers fled screaming. A witness said: “There was blood everywhere. Everyone ran out of the place.”

Surgeons battling to save the severed willy tried to sew it back on in the first UK op of its kind. Quick-thinking cops recovered the organ from the restaurant floor after subduing its crazed owner with CS gas. The manhood was packed in ice and taken with the man to London’s St Thomas’s Hospital. A spokesman there confirmed doctors had attempted to re-attach it, but the hospital refused to say whether the procedure had been successful.

The 200-seater restaurant on The Strand in central London was packed with runners and spectators from Sunday’s Marathon.

Sales rep Stuart McMahon, who was eating supper with his girlfriend, said: “This guy came running in then charged into the kitchen, got a massive knife and started waving it about. “Everyone was screaming and running out as he jumped on a table, dropped his trousers and popped his penis out. Then he cut it off. I couldn’t believe it. “The staff were really upset and there was blood everywhere.”

Police sped to the scene and restrained and handcuffed the man. Several diners were treated for shock by ambulance crews.

A spokesman for the Zizzi restaurant chain said: “It all happened in a matter of seconds and was obviously extremely frightening and distressing. The manager and staff bravely helped evacuate the restaurant.”

Last night cops were trying to establish the Pole’s background. He had left no identification in the clothing he discarded. A source said: “We believe he’s Polish and 35. We don’t know if he has a history of mental illness, but he’s clearly not a well boy.”

A Met Police spokeswoman said: “Officers arrived to find a 35-year-old man with severe self-inflicted injuries. “No other people were injured and the man was not arrested. He is now stable in hospital.” The man will be assessed by psychiatrists following treatment for his wounds and is expected to be held under the Mental Health Act for his own safety.

The diner remained shut yesterday for a clean-up operation. It was due to re-open last night.

The Royal College of Surgeons confirmed this was the first time that anyone in the UK had had their penis sewed back on.

After controlling the blood loss, doctors had to repair the blood supply and reanimate the tissue by rejoining the arteries and veins under a microscope. Top Italian plastic surgeon Dr Nicolo Scuderi said of the operating technique: “We don’t know how much sensitivity and function will be regained.”

What a way to ruin a dinner. You have to think that of all the people in the restuarant there was probably some couple on their first date, then this happens, there's a date to remember.